The International Cessna 170 Association

We have so many treasured memories in our 55 170b. It has safely and reliably taken us anywhere we've directed it. In return we've done our best to spare no expense in maintenance, care and refurbishment.

However, it seems like a loosing battle. These planes are getting so old..Every one I see, including even the best examples have some degree of corrosion, fatigue, hairline cracks, slow mechanical degradation. We are always fixing something.

The cost and availability of parts, maintenance and operations only seems to be getting more and more outrageous. The generations of pilots, mechanics and and craftsman that built and saw these planes through their first ~7 decades is passing and It seems like so much knowledge is going with them. Gone are the days of field approvals and affordable innovation with the FAA.

We have enjoyed the rare confluence of geopolitical forces after WWII that facilitated the creation of thousands of GA aircraft. Are we reaching the end of days for the 170? Will it be relegated to museums and wealthy collectors instead of being a (reasonably) affordable part of so many families lives?

Even if you argue we can stay creative and keep them flying for another 30 thirty years, what then? What about 50 years or the next generations?

-It's easy to wax emotional about our birds or lament the status of GA, but whats the reality of their future?

I hope that the passing of MOSAIC will up the gross weight of LSA to include the majority of the GA fleet. I think this will greatly reduce the costs associated with upgrading and maintaining vintage aircraft while allowing more manufacturers to sell new aircraft that are "affordable."

When our aircraft were built I seriously doubt anyone at Cessna expected so many of them to still be flying 70 years later. From an engineering perspective I'm sure that we are way past the design life of the aircraft.

Nothing in life lasts forever. Best to enjoy it while we can!

The Good News is that they are so simple that virtually anything about them can be repaired, renewed, or rebuilt on a budget of the average middle-class family. What other airplane hauls 4 and burns 8 gph at 100+ kts for less than $50K?

Less than $50k!? Maybe with a time machine…

Until very recently the typical 170 would trade for less than $50K, and I suspect when the marketplace calms down they will again be found at/near that price…not the very BEST in the fleet…and not mine….but the average: https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all ... efing_bbuy

While the Cessna Engineers in 1948 likely didn’t plan on these airplanes still flying 70 yrs. later, they did design and build quality products, as was the norm back then. No real design life limit was built in, like many products today.

The steel Swingline Stapler that sat on my teacher’s desk in 1969 would probably still operate the same today, whereas the cheap Chinese plastic one I bought for my desk should have been thrown away > 5 yrs. ago if I weren’t so frugal.

If we take care of these Cessna works of art, most will outlive us current caretakers- if we do our part.

I beleive that there will be 170s around for a while. I think they are currently making the transition from "really practical plane for the money" to something more like "classic that is still a very useful airplane". I find it interesting how many of the "classic" things went through a period of almost zero value when they were considered simply old and outdated.

For me I just love that something that was designed in the 40s is still a functional and practical tool today. It really is my pickup truck, but its a cute one.